


Lightning Before the Thunder

by leontina (Leontina)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Creature Draco Malfoy, Creature Fic, Elemental Magic, Kitsune, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-10 15:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12301713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leontina/pseuds/leontina
Summary: After being struck by lightning Draco is transformed into a Kitsune, a rare and powerful elemental creature. He has to hide from the Ministry who are rumoured to abduct and experiment on rare creatures, but an injury means he is forced to hide with Harry Potter.





	Lightning Before the Thunder

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Halloween Creature Fest on LiveJournal :)
> 
> I have a love for humans with animal ears and tails so I couldn't resist writing this very self-indulgent story ;D Title comes from the song ‘Thunder’ by Imagine Dragons

Thunder cracked loudly overhead, a low rumble following the initial boom. The sky was entirely hidden by black clouds which lit up every so often as lightning flashed through them. Rain pelted the ground, and Draco scowled as mud splashed up onto the hem of his robes as he walked across the field.

He’d waited too long for this moment, though, and he wasn’t going to let a little mud and rain put him off.

Draco had been preparing himself for the Animagus transformation, not for any particular reason but just because he could. The preparations had involved a month of nightly meditation sessions, another month—from one full moon to the next—of holding a Mandrake leaf in his mouth, followed by spitting the month-rested leaf into a phial under the light of the full moon, adding more hard-to-obtain ingredients to the phial, and then storing said phial in the darkness. Then Draco had to wait for a lightning storm, but in the meantime he’d had to cast the incantation _Amato Animo Animato_ Animagus over his heart, once at sunrise and once at sunset, every day without fail. 

Now there was a lightning storm Draco could finally move into the last and easiest step, which was simply to drink the potion in a large and open space, preferably outdoors. If Draco didn’t do it then he’d have to start the entire process all over again, and Draco had barely maintained his sanity the first time round. 

No, Draco was going to ignore the rain drenching his skin, drink his potion, and then use his new abilities to transform into his Animagus form the first time. He had even placed a large mirror in the field so he’d be able to see what animal he’d become; he didn’t want to claim to be excited at the prospect of finally getting to carry out the transformation, but the anticipation in his veins felt almost electric. 

Once he was in the centre of the field Draco pulled out his wand and cast the incantation over his heart one final time, before removing potion phial from his robe pockets. The liquid inside was thick and gloopy, and over time had turned from murky green to vibrant silver. It tasted like metal too, heavy on his tongue as it slid down his throat. 

He dropped the phial to the floor once it was empty, closing his eyes and holding his arms outstretched, face turned towards the sky as he basked in completing the final step of the Animagus preparations. He could feel his magic tingling within him, throbbing beneath his skin, and he knew without a doubt that he’d be a proper Animagus any moment now.

Draco opened his eyes and shook the rainwater off his face, turning towards the mirror and _willing_ himself to turn into an animal.

Suddenly his body was shrinking, his magic bubbling as he shifted. It wasn’t painful or even uncomfortable, just _different_. It took seconds at most—he’d read it would be almost instantaneous the more he practiced—and then he was a lot closer to the ground than he had been before, his body felt lighter, and the smell of the wet earth was almost overwhelming. 

He glanced downwards, spying bright white furry legs. Draco had wondered before if it would be weird to see himself in a body that wasn’t his own, but he realised now this was still his body...it was still _him_.

He bounded towards the mirror, unable to stand not knowing what his Animagus form was for any longer. 

An arctic fox looked back at him through the reflection glass, all white fur and beady black eyes, and a thick, fluffy tail behind him. A fox....Draco could see how a fox suited his personality and characteristics. Yes, Draco was rather pleased with his form. 

A new scent came to him then, like metal again but far stronger than the potion. The scent tasted almost overwhelming, and he could feel his fur standing up on end as another loud roar of thunder sounded overhead. 

Reluctantly, Draco decided it was time to transform himself back to his human body.

As he began to change back he saw light. It only lasted for a split second, but Draco see managed to watch, helplessly, as a beam of bright yellow light surged towards him, slamming into his chest and knocking him off his feet. 

He was vaguely aware of being back in human form, but his main awareness was of the pain that was rapidly spreading through his body, and of his heart beating impossibly fast. He groaned in pain and tried to lift his head, but it was too much for him, and his head fell back as his world went black.

\- - - 

Draco awoke in a soft, warm bed, his eardrums throbbing and a dull ache residing in his chest. He blinked blearily, groaning as he sat up in bed. The smell of cooked bacon and eggs wafted over to him, making him crinkle his nose, and he turned to see a breakfast plate waiting for him on his bedside table—work of the house-elves, no doubt. 

House-elf magic also explained how he’d gotten from outside to his bedroom while he was incapacitated. 

Struck by lightning!

He’d been struck by lightning!

The pain in Draco’s chest seemed to roar back to life as he remembered what had happened, and he punched his chest in an attempt to dull the pain. Unsuccessfully. 

The Animagus books had been very adamant that being outside for the first transformation was advantageous, and specified that completing the preparations during a lightning storm was mandatory. What they hadn’t mentioned was that going outside largely increased chances of getting struck by lightning.

It should have been obvious, perhaps, but Draco hadn’t been wearing any metal and he’d been far from the treeline, so he hadn’t even thought of the risk. Still, he could feel his magic thrumming slightly under his skin, fixing the damage the lightning had done. 

He knew he should probably eat something, but the smell of the food was making him slightly nauseous and his head still felt groggy. He closed his eyes, intending to rest for perhaps only an hour more, but when he awoke again there was bright sunlight streaming in through his window, the rainstorm long gone.

He felt mostly better for the extra sleep, though his chest felt sore where the lightning had struck it. He reluctantly forced himself to get out of bed, shuffling his feet along to the vanity mirror so he could see the physical damage the lightning had done to his chest. 

He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked, briefly glancing towards the mirror as he approached before returning his attention back to his buttons...only to look back up at the mirror again in horror.

There, on his head, were two furry, white, pointed ears, a touch of black running around the edges of the inside. He gasped, hands flying up to touch them as he suddenly became very _aware_ of them on his head.

And then, as his hands flew to his head, he caught a glimpse of white behind him. A white, fluffy fox tail came firmly into view, connected to Draco’s lower back, just above the curve of his arse. 

He spun around trying to catch a proper glimpse of his tail, circling and circling until he realised just how ridiculous and _animalistic_ he looked. He promptly stopped, settling for scowling into the mirror as he looked desperately at his reflection. His new, pointed ears twitched at his despair, and he could only laugh humourlessly at his body’s reaction. 

He’d read about these things happening to witches and wizards attempting to become Animagi, getting permanently stuck with animal features if they did something wrong during the preparation period. Draco hadn’t done a single thing wrong, though, he was sure of it; he’d been so meticulous in his planning, doing each stage precisely as he was told to. 

A surge of anger flowed through him, and without thinking he swung his fist back and slammed it down on the mirror—only to yelp and jump back in horror as sparks of white-gold leapt from his fingers towards the glass, almost like...almost like _lightning_.

Draco had heard of people getting stuck as half-animal mutations in Animagus transformations gone wrong, but never anything worse than that; never anything like creating lightning from underneath skin.

He turned to run to to the library, only to narrowly avoid slamming his face into the heavy wooden door as his feet carried him far faster than anticipated. His heart was hammering in his chest, feeling like it was beating at a million miles an hour. Something was very, very wrong.

He took a deep breath, taking a deliberately more subdued walk to the library, trying not to pay attention to the way he could hear the bird’s singing so clearly that he could tell what note they were tweeting in, or the way the scent of the dusty old books carried towards him long before he reached the library. 

Once he was there, he turned to the section on magical beasts and creatures. This wasn’t just an Animagus transformation gone wrong, Draco knew that. What he _didn’t_ know was what had he become? And more importantly _why_?

Vampires, werewolves and Veelas were by far the most common semi-human, semi-creature beings, but others existed such as the fae, incubus, Sirens, and wood-elves. Then there were elemental magical creatures, that—like Veelas had powers of fire—could control a different element depending on their type. 

Elementals were rare and considered very powerful, and something to be envied and prized. The real number of elementals was unknown, because those that admitted to their powers tended to disappear. 

Draco stopped pulling books off the shelves for a moment to hold his hands out in front of him. He could still feel the throbbing beneath his skin that he’d previously thought had been his own magic, but as he focused on it...more sparks of lightning flew from his fingertips before he hastily drew his hands back in horror. 

As far as he knew, lightning was considered an element, so with a sinking heart he pulled out the books about elemental creatures. 

Water, by far, had the most types of creatures linked to it but lightning and thunder had a fair few; thunderbirds, valkyries, cyclopes...and kitsune.

Kitsune were magical creatures commonly found in Japan—though known to exist in much fewer numbers across the world—who were known for their humanoid bodies, though sporting fox ears and a fox tail. 

Draco trailed his fingers sadly across the artistic drawing of a kitsune, which looked almost identical to the way Draco looked now.

Kitsune, the book said, had increased sense of smell, sight and taste, and had an extended life span of almost 300 years. As well as being able to shapeshift into a fox form, Kitsune could produce lightning from their fingers, hypnotise people using either their eyes or their tail, create lightning storms, and even create illusions.

It all sounded very wonderful, but Draco didn’t want to be a Kitsune; he just wanted to be human. 

He dropped to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, scowling as he had to shift to accommodate his tail. 

His fucking _tail_. 

All Draco could think of was that the transformation had been to do with being struck by lightning. After all, it had hit him while he was halfway between being a fox and being a human—and Kitsune were fox-aligned humanoids with an affinity for lightning; Draco’s magic would have been the perfect conductor to bring it all together.

He groaned, burying his face in his arms. He was going to go back to bed and hope he woke up to discover everything had a very realistic nightmare. But if it was real, well, then Draco had a lot of research to do.

\- - - 

Upon realising that he wasn’t in a nightmare, and was indeed a Kitsune, Draco set about reading every book he had in his library which had any information about Kitsunes, elementals, or magical creatures in general. But while the books offered plenty of knowledge on what a Kitsune could do, it didn’t say how they could control or train their powers. 

So far Draco had been able to create full bolts of lightning from his hands if he focused hard enough—though his walls now had several scorch marks on them as a result—but creating storms had been impossible no matter how much he concentrated. He tried to practice his illusion abilities on a house-elf, but they simply thought Draco was coming down with a fever and tried to send him to bed.

Draco finally had to reluctantly admit that a trip to Diagon Alley was in order so he could get some more informative books to study from. As he didn’t want to reveal his new status to the world, he cast Undetectable Extension charms on his cloak and hat to disguise his tail and ears.

Unfortunately Draco knew they were there, so even though in the mirror he looked completely normal and human, he still felt like his cloak and hat were sticking up from the fox features. He kept tugging at the back of his cloak uncomfortably, but once he arrived in Diagon Alley he’d forced himself to act casual. 

He also wore leather gloves which were insulated with rubber on the inside so he couldn’t accidentally set lightning off during his travels. It was only early October, though, so his hands felt warm and clammy. All in all, he was in a bit of a bad mood because of his discomfort, and he glared at anybody who dared to walk too close to him. 

He didn’t look anyone in the eye as he entered Flourish and Blotts, slowly studying all of the shelves that the bookstore had to offer rather than just heading straight to the magical creature section. He pulled out some other books he didn’t really need, thankful again for his father’s wealth. 

He’d finally found everything he needed, when he turned away from the final book shelf and crashed right into somebody. He gasped in shock as he felt sparks of electricity beneath his gloves, while his books tumbled to the ground at the crash.

The person who had bumped into him dropped to the floor to pick up the books, and Draco could only stare down in horror at that familiar shock of messy black hair.

“Sorry about that,” Potter murmured as he stood up, eyes widening when he realised who he was speaking to. “Malfoy?! Er, long time no see.”

“That’s the way I like it,” Draco said stiffly, eyes unwillingly drawn to Potter’s plump red lips. “Can I have my books back, please?”

Potter grinned nervously, eyes glancing downwards as Draco tried to snatch his books back before Potter could see what they were.

“ _Guide for Elemental Creatures_?” Potter said aloud, reading quicker than Draco could hide. “That sounds interesting.”

Draco felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest. “It’s for a book I’m writing,” he said, utilising his cover story quickly and shuffling to hold up another book entitled _How to Write Your First Novel_. “It’s about a man who becomes a siren after one saves him from a shipwreck. Very romantic. You wouldn’t be interested; I don’t take you for the reading type.”

Potter shrugged. “I would point out that I’m in a bookstore, but honestly I’m just picking something up for Hermione.” He grinned again, more confident than last time. “Well, er, good luck with your novel, Malfoy. See you around, maybe?”

Draco just nodded, brushing past Potter as he escaped towards the till. 

As their shoulders met, a spark jumped between them, making Potte recoil in shock while Draco froze and cringed inwardly. 

“Oh, static shock,” Potter muttered with a shiver, but returned to browsing the shelves without another word.

Draco hardly dared to breath, still half-expecting Potter to turn around with realisation and accused Draco of being a Kitsune right in the middle of the bookstore. When it became apparent that Potter was going to do no such thing, Draco hurried to the till, paid for his books, and hurried home before he had any more awkward run-ins. 

\- - - 

Draco smiled with satisfaction as the bolt of lightning that burst from his fingers hit the tree dead on, splintering the trunk into two.

Getting used to his speed and creating lightning had been the easiest of his abilities to get used to, though hitting direct targets was rather more difficult. He was getting there, though, and he hoped that with enough time and effort he’d be a dab hand at creating illusions and storms. 

He’d taken his practices to an isolated field in the middle of nowhere, not wanting anyone to track him to his home. When Draco had looked up the authors of the books he’d read who happened to be elementals as well, he’d discovered that nearly all of them had gone missing, and those that hadn’t had fled to countries where they were accepted. 

In fact, there were high rates of disappearances in many magical creatures, yet knowledge of it seemed to have been purposely swept under the rug. 

It was enough of a concern that Draco had taken great care in picking a location to practice his powers, and had barely dared to go into the wizarding public. He’d even picked up a book on learning Japanese in case he needed to escape the country at some point and go to the one place that Kitsune were highly regarded and respected. 

Yes, Draco had been very particular about keeping himself safe and not revealing his secret, which was why he almost jumped out of his skin when his Wards began blaring. Draco froze like a deer in headlights, spinning around until he spotted a cloaked figure standing at the edge of his Wards, tearing them down. The figure couldn’t see inside yet, but as soon as the Wards fell Draco would be visible in all his Kitsune glory.

He couldn’t Disapparate while his Wards were up, and by the time he dismantled the other side the cloaked figure would have made it through. There was only one option.

Draco shifted into his fox form just as the Wards fell, and the cloaked figure ran forwards eagerly, looking around wildly before his hidden eyes seemed to focus on Draco. Draco stilled for a moment, hoping desperately that the figure would write him off as a simple fox and continue searching for whatever they were looking for. 

“Hello, Kitsune,” the figure said instead. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Draco could sense the magic building from the figure’s wand before they could even complete the spell, so he broke into a run, frantically heading towards the treeline where he hoped to lose himself amongst the trees so the figure couldn’t track him. 

As he surged forwards he felt a bolt of pain strike him as the spell grazed one of his back feet, feeling like the burn of ice. 

He forced himself forwards despite the pain, knowing worse would be to come if the figure caught him. He had visions of being locked in a cage and experimented on, forced to do the bidding of another...maybe even slaughtered if his captors chose to. 

Even with the pain slowing him down he was still faster than the figure sprinting after him, but each step took more of Draco’s energy and he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up his speed for long, and if the figure had been able to track him once…

Another spell narrowly grazed past him, and Draco wished more than anything he could transform back to his human body and defend himself, but he had no way to hide his identity. The figure chasing him most likely had superiors or colleagues to report back to, and the last thing he needed was for a group of dangerous people knowing the true identity of who the Kitsune was. 

He finally made it to the trees, hoping desperately he’d be able to find somewhere to hide or a place to transform back and Disapparate away. Draco twisted his head back as he heard a twig snap close behind him, but saw nothing, his heightened senses simply picking up on the sounds of the woods. 

As he turned his attention back to the front he ran directly into a pair of human legs, the collision causing his own legs to collapse beneath him as the pain in his back leg doubled. His heart raced heavily in his chest as the figure bent down, and Draco prepared himself for the end of his freedom, only to see Harry Potter looking at him in concern.

“You’re a lovely looking thing,” Potter murmured, frowning as he looked Draco over. “And you’re hurt! Have you escaped from somewhere?”

Draco wanted to bury himself in the dirt as more human footsteps sounded behind him. His leg hurt far too much for him to pick himself up again, and now Potter was going to hand him over to the cloaked figure without realising what he was doing and-

Potter suddenly scooped Draco into his arms, covering him with his cloak and bathing him in darkness.

“Got you! Oh! It’s you, Potter, excuse me,” a new voice said, the cloaked figure, Draco assumed. “Er, I’m looking for a fox—a white fox. It fled my daughter’s farm.”

“It went that way,” Potter lied, keeping his cloak wrapped firmly around Draco. “It looked hurt; I hope you’re being gentle.”

“Silly thing stumbled and spooked itself,” the figure muttered. “Thanks anyway.”

Draco listened as the figure hurried away, and relief sank through his entire body, only for the anxiety to surge back to life when he felt Potter Disapparate them away. 

Moments later light blinded him for a second as Potter unravelled Draco from his cloak and gently placed him down on a soft bed. 

“Don’t worry,” Potter said gently, gingerly petting the top of Draco’s head. “I’ll see if I can sort that paw of yours out for you.”

\- - - 

Draco waited until Potter left the room and he could hear Potter’s footsteps going down the stairs before he transformed back into his human body. His foot and ankle throbbed painfully as it morphed from fox to human, and he had to grit his teeth against the pain.

He stepped off the bed gently, shuffling on the floor with his injured foot to see if he could stand the pain. It appeared just about bearable, but as soon as he stood up he collapsed to the floor, hissing in pain as his body couldn’t hold up his own weight. 

He swore inwardly as he heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs, and Potter appeared moments later with wild eyes. He stared at the bed first, somehow missing Draco completely for just a second or two before his gaze widened.

“M-Malfoy?” Potter stammed, eyes flicking between Draco’s fox ears and tail. “You’re...you...what?”

Draco knew it was too late to run or hide or lie now—Potter had seen Draco for what he was.

“Nice to see you’re so good at stringing sentences together,” Draco ground out. “Yet somehow you think you’re adept enough to heal me,”

“Heal you? Oh!” Potter glanced down towards Draco’s ankle. “Er, can I help you back onto the bed, Malfoy? And for your information, I’m a lot better at healing humans than I am animals.”

“That still isn’t particularly reassuring,” Draco grumbled, wincing as Potter hoisted him back up onto the bed. “A little more gentleness would be appreciated.”

“Gentleness?” Potter scoffed. “Try being less snarky to somebody who’s trying to help you. And talking of helping you...well, it would help to know _why_ you were a fox, _why_ you have fox ears and a freaking _tail_ , and _why_ you were being chased by an Unspeakable.”

Draco frowned. “They were an Unspeakable?”

“Didn’t you know?” Potter replied, Summoning some potion phials and a first aid kit towards him from another room. “I don’t know his name, of course, but I’ve seen him around the Ministry and I know he works somewhere in the Department of Mysteries. Maybe he wants to know why you’re half fox now, too.”

If the man was an Unspeakable Draco really didn’t think his fear of horrific experimentation wasn’t an unreasonable one to have. 

“Ouch!” he hissed as Potter’s fingers brushed against his injured foot. “Be careful!”

Potter ignored his outburst, frowning. “This looks like some serious spell damage. I think we have to get to St Mungo’s.”

“No!” Draco protested loudly. “No St Mungo’s! No getting anybody else involved.”

Potter’s frown deepened. “Is this to do with the fox… _stuff_?” His hands gestured all around Draco’s body. “Which you still haven’t explained to me, by the way. Is it some Animagus thing gone wrong? A Polyjuice accident? I know it might be embarrassing but the Healers have seen it all before.”

“I doubt they’ve seen anything like this before,” Draco muttered darkly. 

He took a moment to consider Potter, who was still crouched on the floor in front of Draco. His eyes were wide and bright, filled with a little bit of suspicion but mostly concern, and Draco knew, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he knew he could trust Potter. Potter was noble and selfless, and had defended and even befriended several other magical creatures; he was probably one of the few people Draco could actually trust would keep his secret safe.

And with his foot injured as it was, Draco didn’t think he had a choice. 

“Have you ever heard of Kitsune, Potter?” Draco asked slowly. Potter shook his head, waiting for Draco to explain. “They’re magical creatures; lightning elementals. They’re recognised by their ability to create lightning, shapeshift into a fox form, and having fox ears and a tail even in their human body.”

“Fox...oh,” Potter said, looking Draco slowly up and down with realisation. “You’re a Kitsune? How? You never used to have ears like that, did you?”

“Yes, actually, you just never noticed,” Draco said dryly, giving Potter a pointed look. “No, Potter, it’s a recent development. I got struck by lightning while I was practicing my Animagus transformation and this happened. Elemental creatures are rare and considered powerful, and have a tendency to disappear. I’ve been careful to keep this secret but apparently the Unspeakables have been trying to track me down.”

Potter frowned again. “I don’t trust those Unspeakables,” he muttered. “And magical creatures hardly have rights as it is, so who knows what the Ministry let them get away with. You don’t have to worry, you know, about me telling anybody your secret or anything. You’ve been a bit of a prat in the past, but that doesn’t mean you deserve to be experimented on or locked in a cage.”

Draco could have rolled his eyes at Potter’s predictability, but his heart softened at the sincerity in Potter’s voice. 

“You can stay here for a little bit, if you want,” Potter continued after a moment of silence passed between them. “If you won’t go to St Mungo’s I can still heal your ankle a little bit for you, but it won’t be a quick and easy fix like the Healers can do, and if the Unspeakables are trying to track you it might be better if you stay with somebody until you’re fully healed.” 

It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Potter was a far more appealing option than the Unspeakables. Besides, Potter was at least easy on the eyes, with his big, green eyes and wild black hair that curled around his cute face...

“I suppose it makes sense,” Draco said quickly, shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts of Potter and _cute_. “I think I will take you up on the offer.”

Potter smiled, his gaze flicking up to Draco’s ears. “Cool! So, er, how good are you at creating lightning?”

Draco grinned, holding a hand in front of him and sending a small bolt directly at Potter and knocking him over backwards. 

“Woah,” Potter mumbled, blinking heavily as he sat up, the strands of hair on his head sticking up in every direction—more so than usual. “That was...woah.”

Draco’s grin deepened; it looked like he was going to have some fun while he stayed with Potter.

\- - - 

“Here you are,” Potter said, placing a massive plate of spaghetti in front of Draco. 

“Pasta again?” Draco teased, raising an eyebrow. “I’m beginning to think you can’t cook anything else.”

Potter flushed, and he folded his arms over his chest. “Maybe I just really like pasta. Or sure, maybe everything else I cook turns out awful; who knows what the truth is.”

He grinned, taking a seat on the sofa next to Draco and pulling out his own tray for dinner. 

Draco had spent the last three days on the sofa, his injured foot resting on a footstool in front of him. He refused to spend his whole day in bed, not wanting to look like weak in front of Potter, and instead watched Potter go about his day-to-day business, teasing him at any chance he got. 

Potter, it turned out, was not an Auror like Draco had thought, but worked with Granger campaigning for the rights of magical creatures, and occasionally helped out Longbottom and Lovegood with their respective gardening and magizoology endeavours. In fact, it turned out Potter had been in the forest collecting plants for Longbottom when Draco had run into him. 

Surprisingly, living with Potter wasn’t as terribly awkward as Draco had expected it to be. Potter responded to Draco’s teasing comments with either witty retorts of his own, or with blushes that Draco found strangely adorable, and he’d extended genuine kindness towards Draco.

Draco knew, of course, that their history was a bad one, and that Draco really didn’t deserve anything off Potter, but Potter cooked for him, and tended to his injury, and made sure he was comfortable, and all without the slightest hint of reluctance or resentment. 

He supposed it was in Potter’s nature to be selfless and kind—Potter had even given the bloody Dark Lord a chance for remorse, for crying out loud—so Draco knew he was probably nothing special.

It didn’t hurt to pretend, though.

\- - - 

Potter kept looking at him. He had a book in his hands, though he hadn’t turned the page for a good ten minutes, and he kept looking up at Draco and hurriedly looking away whenever he was caught.

“What?” Draco finally asked, folding over the corner of the page he was on and slamming his own book shut.

“I was just wondering...what other powers do you have?” Potter asked, before holding his hands up in front of his face and hurriedly adding, “not the lightning!”

Draco grinned, lightning crackling at his fingertips. He had taken a lot of pleasure in shocking Potter, especially when Potter least expected it. He never used enough power to actually injure Potter, of course, but enough to knock Potter off his feet and leave him looking frazzled. 

“But there must be others,” Potter pressed on. “I know Fleur can do a little bit of Veela magic, and she’s only quarter-Veela and you’re full Kitsune.”

Draco nodded. “There are. Kitsune can create storms and illusions, and can hypnotise humans; I wasn’t born a Kitsune though which means those abilities aren’t innate for me. I will be able to harness them with enough practice; that’s what I was doing when that Unspeakable found me.”

“Ron’s still not found out who he is,” Potter muttered with a frown. He hadn’t told Weasley why he needed to know the identity of the Unspeakable, but he and Draco had both agreed it would be worth a shot trying to discover who the man had been. “I don’t fancy being hypnotised or tricked by an illusion—it’s too much like the Imperius Curse for my liking—but you can practice creating storms in my garden, if you like. I have garden furniture so you can sit down.”

Draco could understand Potter’s reluctance to let Draco practice hypnotising him or tricking his senses. Creating a storm could be fun though, even if it did take a lot of energy and focus on Draco’s part.

“Let’s not go outside for now,” Draco said. “I want to build up some Wards in your garden first; if that Unspeakable could find me in the middle of nowhere, who knows where else he could track me to. “But..”

He held his arm out in front of him, focusing on a point just above Potter’s head.

“What?” Potter asked quizzically, looking above him, but Draco just shushed him and Potter fell obediently silent. 

Draco could feel lightning crackling at his fingertips but he willed it down, trying to focus on the energy in the air around him rather than the magic in his body. The books had said it was all about manipulating the outside world, making the power of the elements bend to him. 

He narrowed his eyes as he stared determinedly at the space above Potter’s head, trying to push all of his focus into that space. He could feel the magic throbbing beneath his skin, itching to get out through his fingers but he wouldn’t let it, wanting it to burst through him and into the air where it could shape itself into what Draco wanted it to be.

Potter was looking up at the space which Draco was focusing on, and he grinned when the quiet but unmistakable rumble of thunder sounded in the room. 

Draco could feel the magic rising from his skin as black swirls began to shape in the air, forming into small, dark clouds that lit up with lightning. He grinned widely, his happiness surging straight to his magic and bursting towards the clouds and-

Potter let out a gurgled cry as water began to pour down from the cloud onto him—rain, actual _rain_ —and his hands flew up to his face to protect himself from the downpour. 

It was only a small cloud and a small amount of rain, but Draco had done it! He’d finally creating a storm, no matter how little it was. 

His grin turned into laughter as he noticed Potter was still sat, spluttering indignantly caught in the onslaught of rain. Draco moved forwards, his limp barely noticeable now, and grabbed Potter’s arm to pull him out of the rain. 

Potter slipped as Draco pulled him, stumbling forwards, and would have ended up on the floor if Draco hadn’t caught him. 

“Thanks,” Potter grinned up at him, and Draco felt a surge of protectiveness as he held a soaking wet Potter in his arms.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t let Potter go, because Potter didn’t make any attempt to move either.

\- - - 

“Still sore?” Harry asked as he gingerly prodded Draco’s ankle.

Draco didn’t know when Potter had become Harry—probably when Draco realised Harry had a tendency to slip over when Draco made it rain inside and kept purposely making it rain over Harry just so he could catch him.

“A little bit,” Draco lied, feigning a wince.

Truthfully, his ankle was feeling a lot better now, the injury from the curse finally having cleared up. But admitting to it better meant he would have no reason to stay at Harry’s house for any longer, and Draco didn’t really want to leave.

Besides, if the Unspeakables were still after him it was probably safer to have a second person around to prevent an abduction. Draco lying about his injury wasn’t too out of place, he reasoned. 

“It’s funny how it’s better at night,” Harry said smoothly, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. “I noticed you didn’t limp at all when you went downstairs for a glass of water last night.”

“Short-term miracle?” Draco offered, smirking.

Harry rolled his eyes affectionately. “Sure, call it that. You can stay as long as you like, you know. If the Unspeakables are after you I’d rather you had a bit of extra security. Me and Hermione were looking up records of elemental creatures, and the disappearance rates are terrible; the fact the Ministry hasn’t made an effort to prevent it pretty much suggests they’re to blame.” 

“The Ministry lets people do what they want, as long as they have enough power or money,” Draco reasoned. “Why do you think my father got forgiven so easily? Power intimidates and money pleases.”

“I can think of better things that would please me,” Harry said, giving Draco a wink, and the gesture went straight to Draco’s cock. 

“Yeah?” Draco drawled, giving Harry a deliberately slow look up and down. “Maybe I’ll have to find out what pleases you. I have to thank you somehow, yes?”

Harry flushed, and Draco noticed with delight the shiver that Harry tried to suppress. 

“And,” Draco purred, using a finger to tilt Harry’s chin towards him. “Maybe after I’ve thanked you, _you_ can thank me for doing so.”

“Yes,” Harry said breathlessly, eyes wide and glassy as he stared at Draco. “Yes, I want that.”

Draco grinned, moving his head towards Harry’s, their lips inches apart when-

They jumped apart as a crash sounded downstairs, and both shuddering as a cold wave of magic washed over them.

“Anti-Disapparition wards,” Harry hissed. “The Unspeakables! They’re here!”

Harry ran to his wardrobe, frantically shoving clothes aside until he found what he was looking for. 

Draco had just a moment to see the shimmering fabric of an Invisibility Cloak before it was thrown over him, masking him from sight. 

“Harry, I-”

“No!” Harry said, drawing his wand. “You’re the one they want. Keep out of sight, and I’ll hold them off. If something happens to me and they come upstairs, jump out the window—it’s not that high, you’ll be fine,” he said quickly as Draco opened his mouth to argue—“and get to the edge of my Wards so you can Disapparate and go find Ron and Hermione.” 

“Harry-” Draco tried again, but Harry shook his head.

“Quiet!” he urged. “God knows what they’ll do to you if they catch you. Just stay safe, okay?”

Harry ran from the room, the door slamming shut behind him. Draco hesitated just a little too long, and by the time he reached the door he found it unopenable, no matter how much he tried to break it down—even _Alohomora_ didn’t work.

Through his enhanced senses he could hear three other people in the house with Harry; he could hear their footsteps and the low, inaudible mumbling of their voices that his hearing couldn’t quite pick up on...and then it went silent. Entirely. 

The air grew warmer as the anti-Disapparation Wards fell, and Draco felt a sinking feeling in his chest, lightning bursting from his fingertips uncontrollably. His chest rose and fell heavily, anger building inside him until it finally burst through, exploding in a cloud of thunder and lightning, blasting the door off it’s hinges. 

He ran downstairs faster than he’d ever ran before, going so fast he all but glided down the last few steps, but it was to find an empty house. He searched everywhere, but the house was entirely empty.

The Unspeakables had taken Harry.

\- - - 

Draco slammed his hands over the soft fur of his ears as the siren began to wail, almost unbearable for his heightened hearing. 

Getting into the Ministry of Magic had been easy, and even finding his way to the Department of Mysteries had been surprisingly unchallenging. 

It had been several hours since Harry had vanished, and night had finally fallen so Draco could begin his rescue mission. He’d debated between going himself or alerting Weasley and Granger, but alerting Weasley and Granger meant revealing his Kitsune status to them, plus _he_ really wanted to be the one to save Harry.

The Invisibility Cloak had helped to getting where he was currently—Draco wondered just how much Harry had gotten away with because of it—but nothing could protect him with alarm sirens blaring. Any moment now the Unspeakables would come running in, but Draco was—or so he hoped—prepared. 

He tore the Cloak off, holding his arms out at his sides, just like the book had told him.

He hadn’t wasted any of the time he’s spent waiting for nightfall, of course; he just hoped his efforts would work.

He pushed all his energy and focus into his magic, trying to force it out of his body and into the air around him. Lightning crackled at his fingertips, the lights on the walls flickering as electricity sparked through the air.

He could hear footsteps rapidly approaching, and he closed his eyes as he awaited their entrance into the room. 

But he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t there. _Nobody_ was there.

The door slammed open and several cloaked figures burst forwards, staring straight through Draco. 

“There’s nobody here,” one of the figures said with great confidence, eyes entirely unseeing despite Draco being right in front of him. “The intruder must have gone to another room.” 

They turned and left the room without bothering to check; Draco had heard that the illusion creating abilities of Kitsune were incredibly convincing and compelling, 

His lips quirked upwards as satisfaction washed over him at being able to harness that ability so easily. He supposed there was too much at stake to half-ass his attempt, but just because he had tricked some Unspeakables didn’t mean he had Harry at his side and safe yet. 

Draco pulled the shirt from his pocket, one of Harry’s he had taken to track his scent. He pressed it to his nose and breathed in deeply, even though he knew the woodsy, cinnamon scent of Harry well.He felt closer to Harry this way, though, and darted towards the door where the scent seemed to be the strongest in similarity. 

The door was locked, and Draco drew his wand to see a simple _Alohomora_ would work—it didn’t.

Draco held his hand over the lock, sparking lightning down at it. The metal melted and became singed but still the lock wouldn’t budge. Draco scowled, kicking the door and only serving to hurt his foot at the impact.

“You won’t be getting in these, Kitsune,” a familiar voice said behind Draco, glittering darkly—the Unspeakable from the forest. “Wand down, hands up.”

Draco turned around, hands held at either side of his head as his wand clattered to the floor. He stared at the figure, gaze focusing on the blue eyes dimly shining beneath the darkness of the figure’s hood. 

“You’re ours now,” the figure continued, oblivious to Draco’s unwavering stare. “Imagine a Malfoy of all people! Lucius will be so disappointed at your _unexpected_ disappearance.”

White spots burst in front of Draco’s vision but he still didn’t shake his gaze, a smirk coming to his face as the figure tilted his head in confusion.

“What?” the figure murmured uncertainly. “I...you…”

“Open the door,” Draco ordered sharply. “Open the door for me. Do it now.”

The man took an unsteady and slow step forward, and then another one, staring right past Draco as he moved on autopilot towards the door, drawing his wand down the middle of the lock which immediately popped open with a click.

“Good,” Draco purred. “Now go to your colleagues and tell them to search in the furthest Department from here.”

The figure moved immediately away, stride still unsteady.

“And act natural!” Draco snapped, nodding in satisfaction when the figure proceeded to act far more normal.

It wouldn’t do for the Unspeakables to tell their colleague was hypnotized.

Draco clapped his hands together eagerly, reaching down for his wand before stepping into the now-opened room. 

There was a single metal table in the room, much longer than it was wide, and with several buckled straps which were stained with red—blood, if the coppery scent was anything to go by, Draco realised with a grimace.

Draco’s grimace only grew as he realised that surrounding the table, against all four walls, were the bars of cages. The cages were pitch black inside, and even with his enhanced vision Draco couldn’t see what was in there, though he had an idea.

He approached one slowly, jumping back as an arm shot through the bars, the ends of the fingers entirely reptilian and clawed. 

“Help us, please!” a voice came from inside the cage. “Please help us!”

“Help us!” “Help us!”

Voices, far too many voices, echoed round the room, the same two words filled with so much desperation and pain; Draco didn’t even want to imagine what the captives had gone through. What he did know though, was where the elemental creatures who’d vanished over the years had gone to.

“All of you, away from the cages,” Draco ordered, hands bared in front of him, summoning all of his energy.

The blast of lightning that burst forth was so strong that he almost stumbled backwards with the power of it, watching as the golden light splintered through all the bars, dancing across the metal. 

For a moment nothing happened, and then, with a creaking groan, the bars collapsed forwards, crashing to the floor with a heavy thud. 

Slowly, figures began to emerge from the darkness, blinking blearily as they stepped forwards uncertainly. Some had animal features like Draco, some were enveloped in halos of fire or bubbles of water, while others looked horribly mutated, almost more animal than human.

More importantly, Harry wasn’t amongst them. 

“Watch the door,” Draco told a wolf-like man. “Have the rest of you seen a man recently brought here? Dark hair, green eyes?”

“Draco?” a small voice came from the one of the cages, and the crowd parted to let Draco through. 

“Harry?”

Draco stood still, watching as a figure stepped slowly out of the darkness. Draco’s heart surged with relief as he saw the familiar messy hair and bright green eyes of Harry, but then-

“Look what they’ve done to me,” Harry cried weakly, voice cracking as his hands flew up to the cat ears on top of his head. “I’m a _cat_.”

Draco couldn’t help but grin as he begun to fully appreciate the black, pointed ears on top of Harry’s head, and the long black tail behind him. 

“If it makes you feel any better,” Draco shrugged. “You look pretty damn cute.”

Harry shook his head, his eyes glittering with tears as he ran forwards, wrapping his arms and legs around Draco as he kissed him furiously. 

Cats were definitely very flexible—that was Draco’s last thought before they fell in the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Harry laughed, giving Draco a watery smile. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

Draco smiled back, brushing the tip of Harry’s new ear and making him shiver. “Any time.”

\- - - 

Harry’s hand was soft in Draco’s grasp as they walked hand-in-hand down Diagon Alley, their tails swishing behind them. 

As always, people stared at them as they passed them, but Draco had reached the point where he didn’t care anymore. He didn’t want to hide his status as a Kitsune anymore; in fact he was proud of who he was. 

He, Harry, and the other rescued magical creatures had made a massive scene at the Ministry, and along with the help of Granger, Weasley, and other supportive witches and wizards had revealed the terrible secrets of the Department of Mysteries, which was now under investigation by the International Magical Board. 

The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt—who’d been unaware of his Ministry’s secrets—had immediately granted full rights to all magical creatures and made it illegal to harass them or discriminate against them. 

Some of the public weren’t happy, but all they could do now was stare, and in Draco’s opinion they could stare all they wanted—he was far more powerful than they’d ever be. 

Harry had taken to his new status as a magical creature easily, and with research they’d discovered that he was a Neko. The Unspeakables, upon discovering Harry wasn’t the Kitsune they’d been searching for, had decided to experiment on him anyway while they’d had him there, and managed to change his DNA through a spell which Harry had only been able to describe as ‘blindingly painful’. 

Harry had power over shadows and darkness, and could bend them at his will. He also had greatly increased flexibility, which was something they’d certainly had a lot of fun exploring. 

A fox and a cat, Kitsune and Neko. Not usual, but nothing about Draco and Harry was. It didn’t matter, though; they were happy.


End file.
